The Fist Conquers All
by Silvolf
Summary: Zxor was teased by the tallest, Xiz was related to the tallest, Kligg was respected by the tallest. This is their story.
1. The Fist Conquers All Part 1

Author's note: This is my first shot at an Invader Zim fan fic. It involves my fan Irken chars as well as eventually Zim and Dib on Earth.  
  
It contains strong language…scary ne? Oh, and when I write "fag" it means cigarette. Fag is a slang word for cigarette over here in England, just so no one think I'm talking about a gay person when I mention fags in the story. ^_^ Anywho, enjoy and if you wanna see pics of my chars, go to my gallery at http://www.side7.com/art/lararyan/gallery.html Ok, I'm done you can carry on!  
  
  
  
~The Fist Conquers All~  
  
~Part 1~  
  
"Stupid! You'll never be as tall as us!"  
  
The voice echoed down the halls and chambers of the Massive. Several Irkens in the bar looked up from their drinking.  
  
"You quivering heap of perpetual scum! Three inches! Three inches not as tall as us! Three inches not as good as us! You are an example of one who tried! Ha!"  
  
Zxor dodged deftly as a can of soda flew at him, thrown by the Almighty Red. He cursed as it missed its desired target and crashed into the wall behind. Almighty Purple threw a sandwich at Zxor. His aim was better and it hit the poor almost as tall Irken in the eye.  
  
"Look at you! You're a wimp!"  
  
"Call yourself an Irken?" glowered the Almighty Tallests as they glared down upon the hapless Zxor. Zxor sobbed, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.  
  
All his life he'd been berated, teased, tormented in front of legions of Invaders and almost Tallers as an example of what happened to soft hearted failures. Zxor was shy and quiet, bashful if a girl Irken even so much as winked at him. His armour was shades of blue and he had deep blue eyes too. He was a Taller but not a Tallest. Taller than a Controller, taller than an Invader but of as tall as the Tallest. Of which there were currently two of the same height, one with red and black armour and one with purple armour and so they both ruled over the underlings. Each day the tallest called Zxor to stand in front of them so they could ridicule him. Today had been good. Today they hadn't taken him out to an academy gathering to have training Invaders use him for target practise.  
  
"Get out now!" roared Purple. Zxor hurriedly left the room.  
  
"Do you even know why we keep him on our ship?" he asked Red.  
  
"Because Purple, we can amuse ourselves with him" replied Red with a grin.  
  
Zxor walked slowly down the corridor from the main chamber of the Almighty Tallests' ship. He sighed miserably and ducked a can thrown at him by a mocking Controller. Even Controllers had more respect than he did and he was taller than they were!  
  
Suddenly, a hand tapped him on the back, making him jump. Spinning round, he saw Xiz standing there, grinning. She waved.  
  
"Hi there Zxor!"  
  
Zxor smiled. Xiz was the only Irken who talked to Zxor, which was odd seeing as she was the daughter of Purple. Her uniform was purple instead of red. Zxor didn't know why she talked to him, but he never asked why. In truth, Xiz had a deep respect for him because of all the crap he put up with.  
  
"Has dad been throwing food again?" she asked, noting the sauce smear on his face. Zxor sighed and nodded. Xiz walked alongside him. The Taller of the Tallers wore hover belts like the Tallest, but today Zxor walked along miserably, his antennae drooping.  
  
"I think you should stand up for yourself. You let them beat you around. My dad's a really nice guy once you get to know him," said Xiz.  
  
"If I dare utter a word when I'm not told to, they punish me. So I keep quiet."  
  
"Why don't you run away then? Leave the Massive and go back to Irk."  
  
"I can't. If I leave, they'll only find me again or get some Tallers to bring me back. Then they'd set me as an example of the fact that no one escapes them and I'll suffer the consequences that will happen if anyone tries." Zxor sighed. "It's useless."  
  
Xiz looked down at her feet. Zxor tried to change the subject. "Well, at least you're free of Zim now ever since they sent him off on a mission."  
  
Xiz shuddered as she remembered the little squirt of an Invader who was hopelessly in love with her. Her! The daughter of the Almighty Tallest Purple and Zim the shortest Irken since Invader Skooge.  
  
"Don't even talk about him. I'm just glad he's more enthusiastic about his work than about me"  
  
Zxor laughed. "You could say that" he said, remembering the time that Zim had been in control of a destroyer robot and nearly destroyed a whole city in his enthusiasm to prove he really had what it took to be an Invader.  
  
"Besides" said Xiz, "I'm in love with Kligg!" She sighed as she thought of the four foot tall Irken Invader with the scar across his face who had conquered not one but two planets. Zxor shuddered a little. Brave yes, but with a face like Kligg's, you'd have to be blind to be in love with him. His scar and infected eye were no pretty sight and as for his language, 70% of it was made up of swear words. Even when he was happy and giving you a compliment, he'd say something like "you know, you're kinda cute, bitch!" and that wasn't his only bad habit, oh no. He also smoked too. Not very often, about 10 a day, but it still made him smell a bit because the mixture was strong.  
  
Xiz had fallen quiet. No doubt she was dreaming about Kligg. Zxor also stopped talking lost in his own thoughts. What if he did run away? Would he get anywhere or would they find him? He was so deep in thought that he didn't realise they'd reached his quarters. Zxor slipped his keycard into the slot and the door opened. His quarters were small and cramped. The Tallest had given him a broom cupboard to live in. Even though it was small, Zxor kept it surprisingly neat and tidy. He had few possessions and so the only things in his quarters were a bed, a closet and a vendor from which food materialised.  
  
"Would you like to come in?" he asked Xiz. She shook her head no.  
  
"I've got an academy assignment to do" she replied. Xiz wanted to be an Invader just like Kligg. She wanted him to teach her some stuff. He'd recently got back from conquering Shogral, home the Very Scary Cannibalistic Sock People and that was where his eye had been busted. Even though Xiz adored him, she'd never actually talked to him, just sat in academy gatherings listening in awe to his tales of conquering. The loss of his good looks had in no way affected her feelings for him, although some others of his admirers had clearly gone off him she'd noticed, due to hearing their hushed conversations about him. Kligg didn't give a rat's ass what girls thought of him; he was way more tied up in galactic conquest matters. Besides, from what his SIR, WIR had said, his chat up lines were pretty bad anyway. Xiz often saw WIR in the corridors walking around, since Kligg was allowed on the Massive at any time due to his record of conquest. WIR looked like a normal SIR, but it's eyes cams and other parts that should have been red were purple and it had a "W" on it's fore head. She'd told WIR about her crush on Kligg and it'd found it most amusing much to her confusion. She was careful never to touch WIR; however, as due to the modifications Kligg had made to it, its electricity level was very high and the results could be "shocking"!  
  
"Ok, good luck with it" said Zxor and shut the door with a sigh. "Even Xiz thinks I'm boring" he sighed. He got a lemon Brainfreezy from the vendor and sat on his bed. I wish I had a SIR he thought miserably. Even a little robot slave that doubled as a thermos would be better than having no one to talk to.  
  
Xiz meanwhile was in her own quarters doing her assignment. Purple came in.  
  
"How's the assignment going?" he asked. Xiz hurriedly hid a photo of Kligg and smiled up at her father.  
  
"I've nearly finished it" she replied.  
  
"Good, 'cus I want you to get top marks for it" said Purple. "You are going to be the best Invader we've got 'cus you're my offspring! It's in the genetics! Maybe one day we'll even destroy Red and I'll be the leader of the Irken Empire!"  
  
Xiz giggled as her father went off into a mighty rant about being their ruler.  
  
"Uh…dad, why do you and Red taunt that Zxor so much?" she asked suddenly.  
  
"Huh? Zxor? Because he's a disgraceful, pathetic wimp of an Irken, who needs to be taunted to know his place. Now finish your assignment" he replied quickly and left the room. Xiz could see he didn't want to talk about Zxor. She wondered why. Maybe he and Red were afraid of Zxor overthrowing them and ruling instead and that was why they kept ties on his confidence. Xiz got the photo of Kligg out again. It had been taken by her at the last Academy gathering, so he had the damaged eye. She didn't care though. He was the bravest Invader she'd ever known.  
  
She sighed happily and carried on writing.  
  
"Zxor, you are required at the great meeting!" came the voice on the caller. Zxor sighed. Great taunting was more like it he thought. He slipped his hoverbelt on and opened the door. He heard a Controller yell "loser!" to him. Zxor held back a sniff and blinked to stop a tear from forming in his eyes. This was what the Tallest had reduced him to by mocking him so much. He'd lost what little confidence he'd had.  
  
The Tallest stepped onto the platform they used to stand on to make their almighty entry into the gathering. As it lowered them to the floor, they looked down on all the little green heads. The Irkens below looked like little green peas. These were the soldiers in training and every week, the Tallest gave them a speech and some tips on how to be good Invaders. They were more advanced in learning level than Xiz's group. They wiggled their antennae in salute as the platform with Red and Purple on landed. The Tallest smiled.  
  
"Greetings Irken trainees!" yelled Purple.  
  
"Today we will be talking about attitude!" Red changed the tone of his voice on the last word and wiggled his fingers. The Irkens all watched, their big red eyes unblinking.  
  
Purple went on; "When you go out in space to the planet we assign you to, you can't just go out in the wrong state of mind. You must be confident. You must be determined. Basically, you must be completely the opposite to this poor mooch."  
  
That was Zxor's cue. He stepped out on the stage, head down in shame and disgrace. He wasn't allowed to make eye contact or lift his head unless the Tallest told him to.  
  
"This is an example of a failure!" Red yelled the last word and his eyes flamed. "For example," he continued, "say you've come up against one of the hideous natives…" Purple looked evil and pretended to be a "hideous native".  
  
Red continued, "don't just stand there, if they attack you, fight back!" Purple kicked Zxor around, ramming into him and knocking him down. Zxor knew they would punish him if he got up so he stayed where he was.  
  
"Don't lie there like a wimp. If they get you, get up and FIGHT!" said Purple. Zxor got up.  
  
Red grabbed him. "And always remember, weapons!" he said, pointing out Zxor had none. Zxor sniffed.  
  
"See this pathetic wimp?" said Purple, shaking Zxor, "this pathetic wimp has no confidence. He's a failure. And do you know why?"  
  
"Because he never bothered!!" yelled Red, "that's why!"  
  
No, because you forced me, tortured me and made me a wimp, that's why thought Zxor.  
  
Red shook his head. "So you see, if you're like him you'll fail and be kicked out of the Irken Military. In fact, you'll be licked anyway."  
  
Purple punched Zxor hard in the face, making him scream out in pain and fall over. Then he kicked him in the side. Zxor curled up in pain, shivering.  
  
"Behold!" said Purple, "he shakes like a strawberry jelly!"  
  
This went on for an Earth hour or more until finally Red said, "don't end up like this pitiful freak. Keep training, use determination and go forth and CONQUER!! Have a nice day." The Tallest stepped onto the platform and went off the way they'd come. Zxor was in the transport pod waiting for them. He had a swollen eye but it wasn't as bad as some previous times he'd been. The Tallest didn't congratulate him on a job well done but simple ignored him and chatted to each other as if he wasn't there. Zxor sighed. Still at least they weren't taunting him. The transporter took them back to the Massive and the Tallest got out. They walked off leaving Zxor to go back to his quarters alone.  
  
As he walked down the corridor, he wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into another Irken. Kligg. Kligg snarled at him.  
  
"Watch where you're going you stupid shit head!" he yelled. Zxor stepped aside to let Kligg pass. Kligg looked at him.  
  
"Hey, you're that stupid fucker the Tallest are always messing with."  
  
Zxor nodded.  
  
"Man, you're a stupid bastard!" laughed Kligg and walked off. Zxor sighed and went back to his quarters.  
  
Kligg took one last glance at him as he walked round the corner and collided with someone else.  
  
"For fuck's sake would you stupid buggers watch where you're friggin' well walking??!!" he spat at the other Irken. Xiz looked to see who she'd bumped into and gasped. It was him! It was the great Kligg! She picked up the books she'd dropped and blushed. Kligg raised an eyebrow at her. Xiz smiled, not knowing what to say. She remembered once though something WIR had told her. Kligg loved flattery.  
  
"I'm sorry, Conqueror Kligg, Sir, I wasn't looking where I was going" she said.  
  
Kligg grinning, showing off his off white teeth. "Very well," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "you may pass."  
  
Xiz walked slowly past him, making sure he was watching her. Then she wiggled her antennae at him and smiled before she turned round the corridor, turning bright red and ran off.  
  
"Heh" muttered Kligg and lit a fag before continuing on his way.  
  
Xiz ran back to her quarters and through the door then into her room, then into her room, shaking with excitement. Wow! She'd actually met Kligg close up! She'd spoken to him! He'd spoken to her! She'd even given him the respectful antennae wiggle. She fell onto her bed in a daydream.  
  
Later on, Purple came in. Xiz was lying on her back with her eyes closed.  
  
"Honey? Are you asleep?" he said quietly. His voice broke into her thoughts of Kligg and she sat bolt upright.  
  
"Yes, yes I'm fine!" she said, not really knowing what her father had said to her. Purple sighed.  
  
"I came to tell you one of the Invaders is coming round because I need to talk with him about his new assignment. Red's going to a party, which leaves me with him alone. So could you help me get the place tidy?"  
  
"Yeah, sure I'll help you dad" said Xiz getting up. Even though both Red and Purple ruled, they didn't share the same quarters. The Massive was kinda split into two. One half was purple and the other red. Red's quarters were the other side. Red and Purple shared the Massive with a few Controllers and of course, Xiz and Zxor.  
  
Xiz and Purple started putting things away and turbo-vacuuming the place up. Xiz straightened the pictures on the walls and Purple's candy bar wrapper collection, while Purple started finding some food from the item vendor. At last everything was ready for the guest. Xiz went into her room to get something when the door bleeper went off. She heard Purple inviting the visitor in.  
  
"You've left your SIR behind? You should have bought it with you so you could've had it damaged checked. It would have been free too" said Purple.  
  
"Hey Xiz, come in here and meet our guest," he called to Xiz who was still in her room. She dropped the photo of Kligg, picked it up and hid it in her fold out closet. Then she ran into the main room and suddenly stopped in her tracks. Purple never said their guest would be…Kligg! She stood in the doorway gawking at him.  
  
"Don't stand there, come and sit down." Purple told her. Since there was only a chair and a couch in the main room and Purple was in the chair, Xiz had to sit on the couch next to Kligg. She blushed, sitting down. Her antennae felt weak just looking at him.  
  
"Kligg, this is my daughter, Xiz" said Purple.  
  
"We've met" said Kligg grinning at Xiz. Her antennae collapsed as she goofily grinned back.  
  
"Hi again" she replied. Kligg held out a hand. Xiz looked at it, took it in her own shaking hand and smiled at Kligg. Kligg shook her hand slowly.  
  
"When did you meet?" asked Purple.  
  
"We bumped into each other in the corridor" said Kligg. Xiz nodded, then looked down. She still had hold of Kligg's hand. She hurriedly dropped it and coughed a bit. Kligg glanced at her before turning to Purple.  
  
"So, what did you call me here for?" he asked.  
  
"About your new assignment I need to assign you to an enemy planet. Red assigned you last time, so now it's my turn! Oh, would you like some curly fries by the way?" Purple offered Kligg and bowl of curly fries. Kligg took a few and passed one to Xiz. Xiz took it and went even redder.  
  
"Thanks" she mumbled. Kligg ignored her.  
  
"Yeah, well make it a hard one this time, Shogral was way to easy" he said.  
  
"Easy??" yelled Purple, "you nearly died."  
  
"I didn't die though, did I? Thus it was too easy and the next one should be harder. When you send me to a planet I actually die on, then it'll be too hard, ok?" Kligg went into a small fit of coughing after this and lit a fag. Xiz still sat holding the curly fry Kligg had given her. Purple didn't really like Kligg's cockiness, but he was a good and willing soldier, so he thought of a planet. Blorch had been conquered as well as Vort and of course Shogral and Gron. There was Meerkroz, home of the giant slippers and Ventrock, the planet of edible paving slabs, but they were too easy. Purple's mind drifted to Earth, where Zim had gone. Maybe he could send Kligg and some others to destroy it and bring Zim back so he and Red could send him to the planet of never ending commercials and destroy him once and for all. From what Zim had told them, Earth was useless anyway with its odd H2O and filthy inhabitants. Kligg could take a group of Invaders and teach them stuff. It would be good training.  
  
Finally, Purple said, "Kligg, you are assigned to the destroying of that weird Earth planet, the one made almost completely of Dihygrogen Oxide. You are to take some trainee soldiers with you and teach them stuff. If you complete this task successfully and also bring back that retard, Zim, then we'll make you Conqueror of the Year and hold an all you can eat buffet in your honour."  
  
Kligg, who had by now finished his fag nodded and said "I will not disappoint you! Which soldiers should I take?"  
  
"Some that need help! Low ability ones preferably." Purple turned to Xiz. "And I think that it would be a good experience if you went along too. I trust Kligg here to look after you. Do you want to go with them too?"  
  
Xiz couldn't believe she was hearing this. "I'd love to dad!" she yelled, not realising she sounded a little too over enthusiastic. She blushed again. "I mean, yes, the experience would be good training for me."  
  
Kligg nodded and got up. Purple took him to the door.  
  
"See ya then and come before red and I before you leave at the great meeting, ok? We'll tell you who's going with you."  
  
"See ya" replied Kligg. "By  
  
" he said to Xiz. She smiled and waved to him, still holding the curly fry. The door closed behind him.  
  
"Well, that went well" said Purple.  
  
"Yes, very well" grinned Xiz. She was off to planet Earth with her idol, Kligg, what could be better? This was gunna rock!  
  
There, the first part of my Zimmy fan fic!! Part 2 is coming soon. You'll meet more chars, and yes, Xiz still has the curly fry! 


	2. The Fist Conquers All Part 2

Author's note: This is part two of my IZ fan fic! Good news for all of you who enjoyed the first part (not very many, but hey, I'm grateful to ya!) Anywho, read on and enjoy!  
  
~The Fist Conquers All~  
  
~Part 2~  
  
While Purple ate the leftover food and watched TV, Xiz went to her room, still holding the curly fry. She put it on the block beside the bed and looked at it. She sighed. Wow, Kligg had given it to her and now she was going to a planet with him. She wondered what other invaders were going too. She didn't need to pack or anything because Kligg's Voot Runner would have all the.what a minute, Voot Runners are meant for one Irken and one SIR, so how would other soldiers fit in there too? He must be taking a Tooz Ship. They were designed to carry 5 soldiers and 5 SIRs.  
  
She lay on her back and thought about Kligg. Purple came in.  
  
"I'm going over to Red's place, he should be back from the party. We're gunna banish someone! I love banishing! Oh and stay here while I'm out, I'm expecting a delivery."  
  
"Ok." Xiz nodded and closed her eyes, imagining Kligg was with her.  
  
Purple took a teleporter to the main hall where Red was sitting waiting for him.  
  
"Wow that was one of the best parties I've ever been to!" said Red leaning back.  
  
"Where was it?"  
  
"It was on Parteria, the party planet. They throw the best parties!" replied Red. Purple grinned.  
  
"So, who are we gunna banish today?"  
  
Red looked at his list.  
  
"Oh, there's no one on it this week. Oh well, we'll banish Zxor."  
  
"Zxor?? But who will we amuse ourselves with?"  
  
"Oh, we'll find someone. Besides, Zxor's a threat. What if he grows? We'll send him out in a Crash Pod so he can die or something" replied Red.  
  
"Ok" said Purple and called for Zxor.  
  
Zxor was woken up from his rest. "Not again" he said to himself. "What is it this time?"  
  
He accepted the incoming message from the Tallest.  
  
"Zxor, report to the main hall now!!"  
  
"Coming sirs" replied Zxor with a sigh.  
  
Soon he was once again before the Tallest looking pathetic as usual.  
  
"We have decided we've had enough of you. As from today you are banished from Irk!" said Red.  
  
"You are banished from the Massive!" said Purple.  
  
"And you are banished from our lives!!" they said in unison.  
  
Zxor looked relieved. "You mean I can go?" he asked.  
  
"Yes.in a Crash Pod!" said Purple. "Come with us."  
  
They lead him to the ship's vehicle bay and opened the door of a Crash Pod. A crash pod is a small ship programmed not to have any steering what so ever. So it's fired out of a pod cannon and flies until it crashes into something. Then it explodes.  
  
They got one last kick of Zxor as they kicked him into the pod. He yelped in pain and fell in crookedly.  
  
"Comfortable?" sneered Red and slammed the door on Zxor before he could reply.  
  
"Load it up!" yelled Purple and a robot arm came down from the ceiling, gripped the pod and inserted it into the launcher. Red pressed a button and outside the ship, Zxor's crash pod fired out of the mouth of the cannon. The Tallest watched as it disappeared from view, flying very fast. It sparkled like a star and vanished.  
  
"Well that's the last we'll be seeing of that poor mooch" laughed Purple.  
  
"Yeah" said Red, "lets go eat some snacks!"  
  
Xiz turned the curly fry Kligg had given her over in her hands. Wow, it's perfect just like him! She thought to herself. Some techno Irken music played in the background. She barely heard the door open in the main quarters.  
  
Purple poked his head round the door.  
  
"Uh Xiz.XIZ!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I told you to listen out for my delivery, I found it outside the quarters! You shouldn't have listened to music until it had come and what's with that curly fry??" Purple scolded her.  
  
Xiz blushed and put the curly fry down. "It's uh, its lucky!" she said with a grin.  
  
"A lucky fry? Ok then." Purple looked puzzled. "Come in for dinner" he said and disappeared.  
  
Xiz groaned and sat up.  
  
At the dinner table, which was really the couch in front of the TV, Xiz asked Purple who they'd banished.  
  
"That Zxor guy" he replied. "We put him in a crash pod and fired him out the cannon."  
  
Xiz looked mortified. "Zxor?" she repeated.  
  
"Yeah, remember him? That retard wimp of an almost Tallest?" Purple shuddered on the last two words, hating to think of Zxor as almost as tall as him and Red.  
  
Yeah, I remember him, the one who hung out with me when I had no friends, the one who gave me a band aid when I hurt my knee thought Xiz. My friend, Zxor.  
  
A small tear ran down her cheek.  
  
"What's wrong?" Purple asked her.  
  
"Oh, nothing, just got some salt in my eye" replied Xiz.  
  
After an evening of watching TV, with her dad, Xiz went to bed. She updated her electronic Irken Diary.  
  
"Log: Zxor was banished by dad and Red today. I don't know why they did it, he was so kind to me. Dad never noticed him though, I wish he wasn't such a jerk sometimes. Tomorrow I am off to a planet called Earth with Kligg, WIR and some others. I can't wait! We're going to be going in a Tooz ship. I wonder how many others there are going to be. I hope not many because I really want to be alone with Kligg. He's so hot! I don't know how long we'll be gone but the record will be kept in here. ~Xiz.  
  
She turned the log off.  
  
"Lights off!" she said and immediately, the room was plunged into darkness. Xiz rolled onto her side. Yes, tomorrow would be the beginning of a great adventure for Xiz. The start of the journey to Earth!  
  
The next morning, Xiz was up bright and early. She threw her uniform on and dashed in to have breakfast. Purple was still in bed. Xiz rushed in and threw the covers off him.  
  
"Dad! Dad! Get up and start doing stuff! I wanna go right now!!" Purple who had no clothes on, shuddered as the blast of cold air hit his skin. He sat bolt upright.  
  
"Aaaarrgghhhhh!!!" he yelled. "Xiz, don't do that!!" He hugged himself. Xiz threw his armour on the bed, laughed and ran out. Purple picked up his armour, sighed and got dressed. When he went in the main quarters, he found Xiz had had her breakfast and was waiting by the door with a small metal case. It held a spare uniform, her electronic log and the curly fry Kligg had given her.  
  
"We're not going yet" said Purple and went to get a soda.  
  
"Aww, come on!" moaned Xiz.  
  
"You'll be sent off at the Great Meeting and it's too early for it yet" replied Purple. So Xiz had to wait.  
  
When the time finally did come, she was so excited that when she saw Kligg she nearly hugged him. He was standing on the platform with WIR, waiting for the Tallests' dramatic arrival.  
  
A huge congregation of other Irkens had also arrived, including the soldiers who were going with Kligg to Earth. Kligg had picked them out and brought them along for the Tallest to check and confirm he could take them.  
  
First up was Smee and his SIR, SIR. Smee was a really thick invader with really, really long antennae, one of which had an earring in, the right one. His SIR clung to his leg and spoke gibberish on account of because the silly so and so had dropped it in water and short-circuited it. SIR was practically useless just like its master. The only reason Kligg chose him was because he was half a foot taller than Kligg and thus respected because of that.  
  
Smee looked around, focused on the lights above and murmured "Preeeteeee!!"  
  
Next to him was Invader Duf. Duf had been fitted with faulty ocular implants, so he wore glasses. He was a pretty regular looking Irken with a cute smile but was often teased by other Irkens because of his glasses. The Tallest had never given him a SIR, they like the others, didn't like him much. Kligg had chosen him because of his intelligence. He could fix and program anything.  
  
Finally on the end was Invader Rast. Rast looked around, eyes glinting evilly and fingers twitching. He had a huge head in comparison to his body and an Irken symbol tattoo on his forehead. His uniform was normal colour but every other band on it was black, making it look as though he'd escaped from an Irken jailhouse. He had sharp pointed teeth and his tongue hung out over the side of his mouth. He'd dislocated it a while back in a fight and although he could still talk properly, when he relaxed it, it hung out. Rast was a destructomaniac. He'd destroyed everything, his SIR, his house, his Voot Runner. Even the ID Pac on his back. The only things he still had were a pair of guns although today he didn't even have those-Kligg had confiscated them. He didn't destroy his SIR or his ship on purpose though, that had been an accident although the Tallest wouldn't give him new ones. He stood glaring at the audience. Kligg had chosen him because he would be good at dooming people.  
  
Xiz stood in the pod with Red and her father. She'd never been in it before. When it landed, they got onto the presentation platform and it lowered them down to the waiting audience below. Smoke surrounded the whole platform for dramatic effect. The Tallest took it in turns with lasers and smoke machines now. Today it was Purple's choice of smoke machines because his daughter was going to be the main star there. Purple was very proud of Xiz.  
  
They finally landed and the audience cheered. Red, Purple and Xiz stepped out and Kligg walked up to them.  
  
"My Tallest, I have chosen three likely soldiers to accompany me to the enemy planet" he announced and waved his hand at the Irkens who all stood to attention except Rast who looked at the Tallest and panted demonically.  
  
"Very good, we will confirm them now" said Purple.  
  
They walked over to the soldiers leaving Xiz standing next to Kligg. She inched closer to him and watched the Tallest examine the soldiers. First they looked at Smee.  
  
"Hmm, his height is impressive" said Red.  
  
"Yes, but he lacks smartness" replied Purple who was trying to shake SIR off his arm. The robot was clinging to it and mumbling gibberish. "Well he could always annoy the enemy to death or get his SIR to cling to them" said Red, noting SIR's clingyness.  
  
Purple pulled a face. "Why do you think you're suited to the job, Smee?"  
  
Smee thought for a bit then replied "Am I on TV?"  
  
Red rolled his eyes. "Smee, do you have any experience at all?"  
  
"Oh yes, I'm good at cooking!" said Smee looking proud.  
  
"Well at least that's one thing" said Red, "moving on!"  
  
Next they came to Duf. He waved shyly.  
  
"Invader Duf?" asked Purple.  
  
Duf nodded.  
  
Purple said aside to Red; "him? Look at him. He's a geek. He'll be no good! His oculars are faulty for one thing."  
  
"What can you do?" Red asked Duf.  
  
Duf smiled and said, "Well, I.I can.I can fix and program stuff" stuttering in the very presence of the Almighty Tallest.  
  
"How boring! You're not going with them," said Red.  
  
"Aw let him go with them, the ship will hold 5 Irkens and 5 SIRs anyway" said Purple.  
  
"Very well" agreed Red. Duf beamed with happiness.  
  
Finally they moved on to Rast. Rast grinned up at them, biting into his tongue in a rather unpleasant manner.  
  
Red shuddered. "And who are you?" he asked.  
  
Rast saluted. "Invader Rassst!" he yelled, emphasising the "s" in his name for reasons best known to himself.  
  
"And what do you do?" asked Purple.  
  
"I destroy stuff! YEH!!" Rast collapsed into manic laughter.  
  
Red rolled his eyes. "Well you should be able to destroy the inhabitants of the Earth planet then."  
  
"Ok!" announced Purple, "the invaders are ready to go! We all wish you luck on your journey, oh, and if anything happens to Xiz I will have you all fed to the Digestor! Ok, enjoy your journey!"  
  
Red whispered to Purple, "There are 5 Irkens and 2 SIRs, what about when they bring Zim back? There'll be no room for him on the ship."  
  
"That's what luggage compartments are for!" grinned Purple and Red chuckled.  
  
Now they were ready to go. All their equipment had been packed into the Tooz ship by WIR and they were ready to set off.  
  
Kligg waved to the audience and he and Rast got into a transporter with WIR. Smee, Duf and SIR followed also waving and entered another transporter. Both transporters were headed for the docking bay where the Tooz ship awaited them.  
  
Purple went with his daughter in a third transporter to see them off. The Tooz ship stood ready to go. It was like a larger, roomier version of the Voot Runners Irken soldiers used. It had a main bridge with several different rooms leading off of it. The bridge was at the centre and had comfy couches and a table in the middle. Two vendor machines stood opposite one another and on the ceiling above the table, there was a large skylight. There were five quarters, each with a SIR recharge unit for the Irken's robots built into the wall. Each room also had a vendor, a bed and an Irken TV as well as fold out closets and built in lighting systems. One of the doors leading off the bridge lead to the control and view centre for the pilot and another lead down to the cargo compartment where things could be stored. The exterior of the Tooz ship was red and black and the interior, shades of purple. It stood with the step platform out, ready for its passengers. Smee and SIR were the first ones to go in, followed by the inquisitive Duf and Rast looking around and chuckling at his own destructive thoughts. WIR stood by Kligg, awaiting commands.  
  
Purple stood before Kligg, his shadow towering over them. "Ok, Xiz, be good and no annoying the soldiers. Kligg, protect her with your life. I want a transmission from you every day, Kligg to tell me how it's doing. Xiz, don't forget to write!" said Purple and Xiz ran forward and hugged him. Purple picked her up and cradled her in his arms for a moment, now frightened deep inside she might get hurt.  
  
Kligg sniggered a little.  
  
Xiz kissed Purple and he put her down.  
  
"Don't worry dad, I'll send a transmission every single day!" she said. Purple smiled. "Good" he said. He only hoped she wouldn't find it all too exiting and forget him.  
  
He waved to her and Kligg as they boarded the ship. The step platform pulled up into the ship and disappeared. Purple sighed and took a transporter back to his quarters.  
  
Red was with the other Irkens watching the Tooz ship on the big viewer as it departed from the Massive. They were off to planet Earth!  
  
Kligg was driving while the others checked out their quarters. The door of Kligg's quarters had a star on it with the word "Kligg" in the middle.  
  
Smee dragged SIR along by its aerial and rushed into his quarters making ooing and aaahing sounds. Duf ran into his quarters and looked everywhere to make sure everything worked ok. Sounds of explosions and loud crashing noises came from the direction of Rast's quarters. Xiz went into her quarters and looked around. Like everything else on the ship, her quarters were also in shades of purple, much like her own back on the Massive. She opened her case, which had been placed on the bed by WIR earlier. She got out the spare uniform and hung it in the fold out closet. She put her log under her pillow where she normally kept it as well as her beloved curly fry. She hadn't bothered with the photo of Kligg, because she'd be seeing enough of him around the ship!  
  
Suddenly her door flung open and in trotted SIR, Smee's demented robot slave.  
  
"Oh, hello!" said Xiz. SIR made some incomprehensible noises and rushed over, clinging to her leg. Xiz looked down at it. It just stood there holding onto her and speaking gibberish. Xiz giggled as the door opened again.  
  
"Banana apple trees! There you are SIR! Yes SIR! Come here SIR! SIR don't cling! The piggies will punish you again!!" It was Smee and he was yelling at his unruly mechanical mate. SIR ignored him defiantly. Well, what do you expect? You would if you were a robot that was dragged around, stepped on and placed in water on a regular basis!  
  
Smee waved enthusiastically to Xiz, grabbed SIR and ran off. SIR had let go of Xiz when Smee had grabbed hold of it, which was probably just as well or Xiz might have been dragging along the floor behind it at that very moment.  
  
Getting bored, she grabbed a Snack from the vendor and went to sit in the lounge on the bridge with it.  
  
Kligg was still in the cockpit setting the co-ordinates for the 4-month journey that lay ahead. A Tooz ship has the ability to go into hyper drive and travel at speeds way faster than Zim's more primitive Voot Runner, so they would get there quicker than Zim ever did.  
  
Xiz sat eating her Snack and Rast came and sat down next to her, his tongue dangling over the edge of his chin. Behind him, smoke seeped out around the door of his quarters. Evidently, his case had contained a spare pair of laser guns.  
  
He looked at Xiz who only half noticed him there. She loved Snacks and was busily eating the one she had now. Rast leaned towards her and flicked his tongue across her cheek to get her attention.  
  
"Hiii!" he hissed, grinning at her and biting into his tongue again in doing so.  
  
Xiz, with a disgusted look on her face wiped his drool off her cheek and hurriedly finished her Snack.  
  
"Who the grik are you?" she asked him with a look of distaste.  
  
"I'm Rassst! Didn't you see me at the Great Meeting?" Xiz had to admit she'd been paying more attention to Kligg than the other soldiers they were going to travel with. She shook her head no. Rast inched closer.  
  
"Daughter of Purple are you?" he asked knowing already what the answer would be.  
  
"Yes. Yes I am!" replied Xiz importantly. Rast grinned again and a look of excited hunger flashed across his eyes.  
  
"I like destroying stuff" he said thinking this would interest her.  
  
"Good for you" said Xiz. Rast's eyes flashed.  
  
"I know! Destroying stuff is really interesting!" he chuckled eagerly. Xiz felt sick just looking at him.  
  
Whenever he stopped talking, his tongue fell out over the side of his mouth and dangled there, occasionally dripping a little. He watched her wordlessly. Xiz looked back at him and started to feel uncomfortable so she turned away.  
  
Looking across to the other side of the lounge she saw Duf getting a snack from the vendor with SIR hanging onto one of his antennae. She felt a tug on one of her own antennae and looked round. It was Rast.  
  
"Hi!" he purred.  
  
Xiz got up and went over to Duf.  
  
"Hi!" she said.  
  
"Oh, hello!" replied Duf wiggling his antennae (or at least the one that didn't have a robot attached) in salute.  
  
"I'm Xiz, who are you?" asked Xiz.  
  
"D.duf" replied Duf stuttering as once again he was in the presence of a superior. Soon Xiz had met everyone on the ship and they'd all met each other too.  
  
She finally got bored and in an attempt to make up an excuse as to why she couldn't have destruction demonstrations by Rast, she went to the cockpit to see Kligg. WIR was with him.  
  
"Have you nearly finished setting the co-ordinates yet?" she asked him.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be able to bloody well put the damn thing into auto pilot soon" he replied.  
  
"Wwwwwwwwrrrrrrrrrrrrr.my Lord needs rest" said WIR.  
  
"Shut up you fuckin' tin can!!" yelled Kligg.  
  
"See??" said WIR. Luckily it didn't take Kligg much longer to finish setting the co ordinates so finally the Tooz ship had enough information to take them to Earth automatically.  
  
Kligg came and sat on the couch next to Xiz. Rast and Smee were playing a computer game competitively against each other. Duf was reading.  
  
The computer game blew up.  
  
Yep, it was gunna be a very long journey!  
  
  
  
What has happened to Zxor? Does Rast have a thing for Xiz? And WHY do the piggies punish SIR?? Find out in the next exciting part of The Fist Conquers All!! Coming soon to a computer near you! 


	3. The Fist Conquers All Part 3

Author's note: Here's part 3 of the IZ fan fic. Some interesting stuff happens in this one! (I don't own any of the official chars btw, only my fan chars!)  
  
~The Fist Conquers All~  
  
~Part 3~  
  
The first night of the journey soon came. Xiz was logging the record for her day in her log.  
  
Outside, she could hear clanks bangs and yells from the others in their quarters and the lounge. Kligg was swearing so loud that she thought the Tallest could probably hear him. She heard SIR being flung across the room, no doubt it had attached itself to Kligg in some way and he'd lost his temper with it.  
  
She sighed. Kligg she thought. Wow. She really wanted to go out and see him but was afraid she'd get in his way. She sat up and closed her log. There was a small light on above her head and shadows danced in the corners of the room. She got up and got a drink from the vendor. Then she got back in her bed and started to drink it.  
  
Suddenly something smashed against her door, or rather thudded. Startled, Xiz ran to the door and opened it to find Duf on his back with one of the lenses in his glasses broken. He sat up and rubbed his back.  
  
"Are you ok?" she asked him.  
  
"Not really. How shall I ever fix my glasses?" he sighed taking them off.  
  
"What happened?" asked Xiz.  
  
"Rast went into destruction mode when he lost his temper with Kligg" replied Duf.  
  
"And he slammed you against a door?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
Xiz looked around the room and spotted Rast near one of the vendors, foaming at the mouth like a rabid thing and panting. She shuddered. Kligg was no where to be seen.obviously in his quarters. Smee was picking up SIR's arm with had fallen off on impact with the wall.  
  
Man if the whole journey's gunna be like this I dunno how we'll make it thought Xiz. She decided to go and see Kligg. It would give her a chance to be in his quarters and help make him feel better too.  
  
She knocked on the door.  
  
"WHAT?!" came the loud reply.  
  
She opened the door and went in.  
  
"And what the fuck do you want?" he snapped.  
  
"I just came to see if you were ok that's all" she replied. Kligg sighed.  
  
"I should never have chosen that bastard Rast" he said. He was sat on his bed. Xiz sat down next to him.  
  
"Why's that? What happened anyway?" she asked.  
  
"Eh, I made a snide remark about his looks. I couldn't help it. I was joking around and asked him how it was hanging and the little bugger attacked me. Then he just went fuckin' insane." He told her. Xiz wanted so much to hug him, she nearly put an arm round him but held herself back.  
  
"Well I think he's calmed down now" she said.  
  
"Yeah", replied Kligg, "I shouldn't have been so stupid. That fucker can gut an Irken with his bare hands. I've seen him rip this guy's squeedilyspooch out when he made fun of him. While the guy was still alive! I've never heard such pained screams except that cull I went on on Shogral. I thought I was bad, but man, he's way worse."  
  
"But why would asking him how its hanging make him go like that?" asked Xiz, puzzled now.  
  
"It's his ruddy tongue. It's dislocated and that's why it hangs out like that. If anyone mentions it, he tears them apart. He got it dislocated in a fight years ago so when he relaxes it, it just hangs. I'm sure you've noticed he has a slight speech impediment because of it?"  
  
Xiz hadn't noticed really but it was kind of hard to spot. Rast sometimes spoke with a slight slur.  
  
"Yes, well never mind. We all need a good night's rest. Today has been pretty busy and we're all stressed and tired" replied Xiz. Kligg nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. WIR, recharge mode!"  
  
WIR reversed into his compartment and some wires flew out of him and plugged into sockets set in the walls and ceiling of the compartment. A few sparks and he was soon recharging. Kligg yawned. Xiz didn't move.  
  
Kligg's quarters smelt of cigarette smoke and she was scanning around it with her eyes.  
  
"Uh, Xiz?"  
  
She looked at him, eager to hear his next words. "Yes Kligg?"  
  
"Get out of my fuckin' quarters so I can go to bed. I don't want you gawking at me while I get ready" he said.  
  
Xiz's antennae dropped so low they lay flat against her head. "Uh yes ok, see you tomorrow then" she said and walked out meekly. Kligg rolled his eyes as the door closed behind her. He snorted and prepared for bed.  
  
Xiz miserably returned to her own quarters. Oh man I was so sure he'd say something different. I guess I.wait a minute.I was in his quarters! I was in his quarters and he didn't care! I actually talked to him without messing it up! She fell down onto the bed on her back, staring happily at the ceiling.  
  
Wow he's so cool.  
  
After a while, she finished her drink and got into bed. She'd forgotten her night uniform so she just told the lights to turn off and fell asleep with the curly fry on her pillow.  
  
Next morning, she awoke to a pail light shining in her face. She slowly opened her eyes and looked towards it. It was Duf.  
  
"Uh.excuse me." he said waving a light wand around. Xiz blinked a few times and sat up.  
  
"What is it?" her voice was groggy and croaky. Duf held up his shattered glasses.  
  
"Do you have anything that will fix these?"  
  
"No. Go into the repairs room. There's probably a matter welder in there you can use for it." With that, Xiz flomped back down on her bed and closed her eyes again. Duf left without another word.  
  
When Xiz awoke next, all was quiet. No more intrusions from anyone else, just peace and quiet. Xiz commanded the lights on and sat on the edge of the bed getting her bearings. It had been her first night on the Tooz Ship and she'd slept well. However she did miss her father.  
  
I think I'll contact him this morning she thought. She stood up, flicked a switch so the bed flipped smoothly into the wall and grabbed a snack from the vendor before going out into the lounge.  
  
It was surprisingly peaceful in the lounge that morning. Smee was pulling SIR's aerial, Rast was fiddling with some sort of weapon of mass destruction, WIR was in duty mode-cleaning and Kligg was watching TV on the giant viewscreen. Xiz made a bee-line for him and sat down on the couch looking at the TV. He was watching some sort of Irken battle film.  
  
"Uh, Kligg?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can I borrow the viewscreen to contact the Tallest with?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"I want to speak with my father."  
  
"Do it in your room then, I'm watching this movie." Kligg had a finalising tone to his voice that unnerved Xiz.  
  
"Oh" she said, sounding disappointed. "And I thought the great Kligg was kinder than that. Maybe he's not as undeniably great as I thought he was." She looked away. That did it.  
  
"Here, use it if you bloody well want to" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Xiz nearly collapsed as he touched her. Without even realising what she was doing, she'd thrown her arms round him.  
  
"Oh thank you great and mighty Kligg!!" she yelled and kissed him on the cheek. Kligg was speechless and Xiz, just realising what she'd done ran off to her quarters, leaving Kligg dumbstruck on the couch. Duf looked enviously at him.  
  
Oh yeah, he thought, the girls are all over Kligg. Kligg blinked and went a bit pink.  
  
Xiz, in her quarters, paced around.  
  
Oh no, what if he hates me? What if he thinks I'm weird? What if he thought I was a jerk? She decided to call the Tallest from her quarters after all.  
  
On the Massive, Red and Purple were sorting out the missions the individual invaders were taking on.  
  
"I hate work" said Red tapping his fingers on the table in aggravation. Purple was trying to find Invader Slacks' file.  
  
Suddenly the buzzer went off.  
  
"There's someone outside" said Red.  
  
"You don't say!" replied Purple sarcastically. Red raised his antennae and growled at him. Purple smirked.  
  
"On screen" commanded Red and the door of the room went invisible, revealing the Irken outside.  
  
"It's for you" said Red. Purple had his head in a pile of papers.  
  
"Remind me to fire that annoying communications officer.you know, the one who yells things in that REALLY annoying voice. (He is of course referring to the communications officer in the episode, Megadoomer who very enthusiastically announced incoming transmissions in a voice that could be heard out in space.) Huh? For me?" Purple hurriedly got up and went over to the door to greet the newcomer.  
  
"Enter" he commanded and the door opened revealing Nar standing in the corridor.  
  
"Hi Purpy!" she grinned. Purple went pink and gestured for her to come in. Nar walked in, fondling him under the chin as she did so. Purple felt his antennae go weak. Nar was his female Irken that he spent a lot of the time with. Sort of like a concubine in some human countries. She was an unusual Irken with bright blue eyes. This was the main think that had attracted Purple to her in the first place. She wore a long black trench coat, black pants, boots and a purple top with some kind of symbol on it. Like most female Irkens her antennae were curled over at the ends. Purple followed her in closing the door.  
  
"Hello Nar. We're busy right now, you'll have to come back later" said Red. He was jealous of Purple since he himself, although he had many females, he didn't have a personal one. He used to but she'd gone off to be an invader.  
  
"Red." warned Purple. Red pouted and carried on looking for any invaders who didn't currently have missions but were supposed to.  
  
"So, what have I done to deserve your company, Nar?" asked Purple, with a smirk.  
  
"I just felt like dropping in." Nar sidled up to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Purpy." she murmured. Purple hugged her close. He loved that pet name she gave him.  
  
Red made puking noises behind his pile of invader papers.  
  
"Oh don't be so insensitive Red!" snapped Purple. Red didn't reply. Purple looked down at Nar. She was about two feet shorter than him. She stood on tiptoes and nuzzled his neck, laying her antennae flat submissively.  
  
"Oh Puh-leeeeese!" groaned Red in the background. Purple and Nar ignored him, too intent on gazing into each other's eyes.  
  
Suddenly the computer spoke up. "Incoming transmission from Xiz on Tooz Ship number 86210." Purple looked up.  
  
"Accept" he said.  
  
A giant holographic screen was projected onto the wall by holo-projectors set in the ceiling of the room. Xiz's face appeared on it.  
  
"Hi Dad! I was just calling to let you know I'm still alive!" she laughed nervously, still flushed from her earlier experience with Kligg and the kiss. Purple smiled.  
  
"That's good. Kligg is handling things well?"  
  
"Yes, he's a great captain"  
  
"And the others?"  
  
"Rast is a bit scary and Smee is insane, but they're ok really."  
  
Purple smiled. "Well only another two months after this and you'll be there ready to test out your invader skills. You.are training.aren't you?"  
  
"I haven't yet"  
  
"Well you will. Kligg will train you."  
  
Xiz smiled. Kligg wasn't really top of her list of people to talk about in case she blurted something out she shouldn't. She noticed Nar.  
  
"Who's that?" she asked, looking at Nar, who was draped on Purple's arm looking exceedingly content.  
  
"Oh, this is Nar" replied Purple. Nar waved. She was not Xiz's mother. In fact, Xiz had never even met her mother. Once Purple found out Xiz was going to be tall and had the tallest gene in her (a very rare occurrence), he got her out of the smeet chambers and raised her himself. He wasn't going to waste his gene on an Irken that was going to be a soldier. He wanted to bring her up in a proper environment for ruling, on the Massive. It was unknown who her mother was. (All down to the way Irkens breed. I'd explain how I think they breed but lets face it, no one gives a flying grik!)  
  
"Hi Nar" said Xiz.  
  
"Its good to hear from you anyway, Xiz. Tell me if anything bothers you or if you have problems of any kind" said Purple. Xiz didn't like the finalisation in his voice. It seemed he wanted to close the transmission.  
  
"Ok Dad. I love you and I'll call tomorrow. Invader Xiz signing off!"  
  
The screen went blank and disappeared. Red coughed.  
  
"OPERATION: IMPENDING DOOM 2!" he said loudly. Purple wasn't listening. He was indulging in a long and passionate kiss with Nar.  
  
"PURPLE! We're supposed to be sorting out the invaders!" yelled a frustrated Red. Purple broke off the kiss and gave him such a poisonous look that Red cringed. Nar played with Purple's antennae.  
  
"I have some eggs that need removing" she purred. He looked at her and the corner of his mouth curled upwards into a small smirk.  
  
"But we have to sort out the missions for the invaders." trailed off Red.  
  
"That's why there are two of us, Red. So one can keep working when the other has.business to attend to." Purple picked Nar up gently in his arms and they left the room. Red sighed and carried on sorting.  
  
"Incoming Transmission"  
  
"What now?" groaned Red pushing Invader Spleen's paper away for the third time that day. Kligg's face appeared on the large screen.  
  
"Invader Kligg reporting my Tallest! The mission is going well. We're currently in sector 8K. The ship is progressing faster than I first thought, we should get to earth earlier than previously expected. The ship, as you know, is capable of hyper drive so if we.my Tallest?"  
  
Red was slouched with his chin resting on the palm of his hand looking like he was listening but not paying any attention. When Kligg stopped speaking, he sat up.  
  
"Yes, good, carry on as you are. You're doing well. I have to get back to the filing now so I have to go."  
  
"As you wish my Tallest," said Kligg, "Invader Kligg signing off!" He flicked the view screen back to the film again but the way Xiz had acted kept nagging at him.  
  
He finally saw her emerge from her quarters and called her over to him. Xiz swallowed a little and went over to Kligg.  
  
"Sit." He said. She obeyed.  
  
"Your behaviour around me is becoming increasingly unusual. I would like to know why." He kept the sentence short and straight to the point. Xiz gulped.  
  
"I'm sorry, but it is such an honour to be in your presence. I never know how to act around you."  
  
"For the love of Irk, Xiz, you're around the bloody Tallest every day. In comparison, I am not as incredibly "amazing" as them. I know its something more than that. I know a liar when I hear one." He stared deep into her eyes, his face so close to hers she could smell the tobacco in his very skin. "And you," he said quietly in a low monotone, "are lying." Xiz's lip quivered and she looked away, avoiding eye contact with him.  
  
"Well?" he demanded quietly. She could hear in his voice he was trying to be calm. She didn't want to push him.  
  
"I."  
  
"Look at me. A true invader looks danger in the eye when they confront it." He reached down and moved her face towards him with a gloved hand. Xiz sat up, but her antennae showed her fear, limp and laid back against her head like the ears of a frightened cat. She looked him straight in the eye and said:  
  
"It was something I ate."  
  
Kligg didn't look impressed, nor did he look like he believed her. He stared at her with a slightly sceptical air.  
  
"You don't believe me, do you?" she muttered. He shook his head, no.  
  
Xiz took a deep breath and said, "I can't tell you why I act like this around you."  
  
"And why the fuck is that?" asked Kligg calmly.  
  
"I have my reasons" replied Xiz, trying to look at him straight in the eyes as he had done to her before. Kligg ran a hand down his face in a weary fashion.  
  
"Fine" he said after a short pause. Xiz was speechless now. He'd taken it so well and she wondered why. She looked down at her feet and suddenly saw something shiny and round on the floor. She picked it up. It was the photon adjuster for a standard Irken laser pistol. She guessed who it belonged to. Kligg was leaning back on the couch with his head leaned right back and his eyes closed. No doubt mulling over what had just happened or asleep.  
  
Xiz wandered over to Rast's quarters and went in. Rast was curled up on the bed asleep. She carefully put the photon adjuster on the windowsill and paused to look out at the glittering stars in the vast blackness of space. They whizzed past like flashes of light from the cars on a highway at night.  
  
"Nice, isn't it? Did you know most of them are dead but still shine for a few light years ahead?"  
  
Xiz jumped and looked behind her. It was Rast.  
  
"I'm sorry, I was returning this I found on the floor in the lounge." She handed him the photon adjuster.  
  
"Cheersss" he hissed and accepted it.  
  
"Can't control the size of the laser beams that come out without one of these!"  
  
"Uh.yeah, I'll be off now." Xiz walked over to the door but it didn't open. She was locked in!  
  
"Stealth and silence are the first most important things to remember when you're an invader. Next to destruction of course!" Rast erupted into demonic laughter.  
  
"Can you let me out?" pleaded Xiz.  
  
"Yes. But first I want to show you something" replied Rast. Xiz looked around. Rast's room had a bed and some charred carpet.there was nothing else to see except a few pieces of warped plastic and twisted metal here and there.  
  
"Sit down" ordered Rast. Xiz sat on the bed.  
  
"No, that's not down enough!" grinned Rast, his teeth glinting like needles lining his mouth. Xiz sat in the only other place she could sit-on the floor next to Rast. He was holding a round device with a button on the top and three holes in the front. He pressed the button and blue beams shot out of the holes. They aimed for the bed and gathered into a single beam, locking onto the bed and dragging it towards Rast.  
  
"Now for the fun bit!" giggled Rast excitedly. He twisted the button and the bed was flung against the wall, shattering it on impact and making a huge dent in the steel wall.  
  
"Congratulations Rast, now you don't have a bed either" said Xiz getting up.  
  
"Maybe I did set it a little high" murmured Rast, shaking the ball thing in his hands.  
  
"Can I go now?" asked Xiz.  
  
"Yeah sure, whatever" said Rast examining the device. "Unlock." Xiz crept out and back into the lounge again, sitting down with a soda.  
  
**********************************************************  
  
For the first month or so, life on the Tooz Ship was fairly quiet. Xiz called Purple once a day to begin with but that soon became once a week, as there was never anything much to talk about. Duf read a lot and Smee nearly broke SIR trying to stuff it in the food vendor when he couldn't get a snack out one day. Rast stayed in his quarters a lot of the time. Xiz never ventured into them again for a while. Kligg kept lookout and watched Irken TV, mostly enshrouded in a small haze of fag smoke. He never mentioned anything else about Xiz's behaviour towards him basically because she didn't talk to him much though she longed to. She often spied on him in his room though, as in the equipment bay, she'd found a tiny spycam she fixed in the corner of his quarters while he was repairing Odax, his Voot Runner in the docking bay one day.  
  
She could pan it from side to side and zoom in by means of a remote controller she kept in her quarters. After Kligg went into his quarters each evening, she'd retire to her own and watch him.  
  
Near the end of the second month, they were cruising at a steady pace.  
  
They were all in the lounge having lunch when it happened. An enormous explosion followed by a blast that rocked the ship. Kligg leaped up and rushed to the window, then turned and calmly said:  
  
"Battle stations everyone! We're under attack!"  
  
Ooh! What a cliffhanger! You'll have to wait till the next part to find out what happens. 


End file.
